It is said the name Pritchett is Welsh in
origin and, along with
Pritchard
and other spelling variations, as being derived from the "son of
Richard".
Richard the Lionheart was one of England's most famous kings and thus a
popular christian name. In the middle ages people were usually given a
christian name only, names of kings, queens saints and apostles were
popular.
In later years surnames came into use, maybe as people needed to be
identified accurately for Tax purposes.
Another theory is it is an occupational
names derived from makers of pointed instruments. Or maybe the nick
name for a tall thin man.
Research was conducted using the International Genealogical Index covering may parish records going back to the 1600’s. The LDS (Mormon) Church has a mammoth index of over 160 million names. It is freely available in large libraries and research centres. I also used the St Catherine’s Index of civil registration of births, death and marriages going back to the early 1840s in the UK. The records show the Pritchett name scattered around England. During the late 1800's each year would show twenty or thirty births. Large families were active in Birmingham, Bingham and Isle of Wight. In Oxfordshire the towns of Bicester, Banbury and Deddington had significant numbers.
There were several Pritchett convicts in NSW during the early 1800's, and at least two families arrived in NSW as immigrants in the 1880's. Three Pritchetts served in the AIF in WW1. I can find no connections with our family. About sixty Pritchetts are currently on the NSW electoral roll. A similar number are registered in Victoria, mainly in Gippsland east of Melbourne. There are many Pritchetts in the USA; a town named Pritchett and even a ship in the US Navy.
Bicester is 13 miles from Oxford, 54 miles from London and on the old coach road to Birmingham. In the mid 1800s it was an agricultural and market town with lacemaking as a cottage industry. The town is said to be originally a Saxon frontier garrison town built from the ruins of a Roman town, Alchester. Its most historic church, St Edburg’s dates to Norman times. The town has two parts, named Market End and King’s End. In 1861 the population was, Market End, 2711, King’s End, 338 giving a total of 3049.
The earliest relevant record I believe is the marriage of Jonathan Pritchett to Frances SHEERS in Bicester, on the 30th November 1778. Their son, William Pritchett (b. 1790) married Ann GRIMSLEY in 1811. William and Ann had nine children christened in Bicester including a Jacob in 1825.
The St Catherine’s records (the civil index of births) show the birth of an Isaac Pritchett in Bicester, Oxfordshire in December 1857. I obtained a copy of the full entry and it showed the following detail.. Isaac: born 11th December, 1857 at Chapel Street, Bicester, Market End. Father: Jacob Pritchett, Coalmerchants Labourer Mother: Ann Pritchett formerly Wakenell (difficult to read)
There is no mention of a marriage or christening in the parish
records
but these are incomplete. I estimated a marriage date of about
1846
and assume there are other children. More research is needed...
| 1823 | William Grimsley Bricklayer, George Wakelin Plumber/Painter/Glazier |
| 1830 | William Grimsley, Water Lane, Plasterer, George Wakelin, Sheep Street, Plumber/Painter/Glazier |
| 1890 | Thomas Grimsley & Son, Builders James William Grimsley, Builders William Grimsley, Sheep Street, Fishmonger |
The 1891 census shows William and Mary King with their grand
daughter,
Miss Annie Pritchett, living in The Ferry, Rainham, Essex. Rainham is
on
the Thames river, downstream from London and not far from Romford. We
think
there were nine children in the family. On William Jacob’s birth
certificate
we see Isaac’s occupation given as "labourer in a chemical factory".
Isaac
died prematurely of pneumonia in 1900 aged 42. The certificate says he
died at the West Ham Union Workhouse, Leystonstone. His occupation was
General Labourer of 89 Leys Road, Custom House More research on the
census,
birth, death and marriage records might add detail.
William Jacob Pritchett was born in 23rd October 1888, his birth registered in Romford and their address being "The Ferry", Rainham. William sold papers at the Tilbury Docks, among other jobs, to help the family make ends meet. He decided to emigrate to Australia and worked his passage out. He studied Electrical Engineering on the voyage through an ICC correspondence course. After he established in Sydney himself he wrote to his girlfriend, Annie Brown, asking her to join him in Sydney and be his bride.
When William proposed marriage to Annie Brown half the world away she hesitated; but her father urged her to go. When the ship docked in Melbourne, its first port of call in Australia, she was surprised to see William waiting for her on the wharf. He insisted they marry immediately. Her wedding dress was in her trunk, deep in the cargo hold, and she was unable to retrieve it for the ceremony. They married in Melbourne, at St Paul's Cathedral in 1914. He was 25, she 23. His occupation was listed as Electrical Contractor and their residences were S.S. Norseman and S.S. Miltiades respectively. A witness to the wedding was Albert Pritchett who had come with Annie on the voyage..
The following letter from Annie (Brown) Pritchett to David Pritchett, in the late 1970's fills in some details.
David,
William Jacob Pritchett came to Australia in 1911 and worked at the AMP as maintenance man for that company and some other insurance companies. Then he did contract work for a while. He patented the Pritchett Switch. He sent for me and I came in 1914 and we were married at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne on the 18th April 1914.
We lived at Bondi until he built a house in Fairweather St, Bellevue Hill. We had four children and later moved to Vaucluse. You know the rest I think and I am sending these books of the factory he bought at Waterloo. Thought you may be interested but let me have them back. Bill also brought out a switch which helped save life.(an early earth leakage circuit breaker)
He
integrated switches and fuses onto a switch board, engaging a porcelain
manufacturer, Brown & Hordern, to provide the components. In those
days household switchboards were marble boards mounted off the
brickwork
with porcelain switches imported from the UK. This involved a lot of
tedious
drilling so William designed a self contained unit.
The business was a success and during the 1930's he was able to purchase the property Takapuna in Vaucluse. The name came from a suburb of Aukland in New Zealand. It came on the market during the 1930's having been previously owned by a New Zealand steel merchant by the name of Rylance. William arrived home to announce the purchase. Annie had not been consulted. This property has now been subdivided.
William enjoyed boating around Sydney harbour. He purchased, for 300
pounds, a 30 foot yacht, Goora which is still afloat at Little
Manly
today. He also owned a 36 foot cruiser, Maigre. During WW2
Maigre was requisioned by the US Navy. It went to the Pacific and its
final fate unknown
He was rather keen on motor vehicles. First an Indian motorcycle, then an American Oakland Tourer , This had a two tone paint finish with cabriolet leatherette (imitation leather) on the rear of the hood. Then a La Salle sedan, The La Salle was a secondary Cadilac such as the Bentley is to the Rolls Royce. Next followed a Vauxhall (a beast), a Studebaker President, a Studebaker Dictator and after WW2 two Rovers.
He always sent money back to his mother in England. In the 1930's he
arranged for the entire family to visit England, and catch up with the
family left behind. Also in this era Aunt Maud visited from England.
During
the 1940's the three sons joined their father in the electrical
business.
The factory was involved in the defence industries of WW2. William
Jacob
died of a heart attack at the Rose Bay Bowling Club in 1959. Some time
in the 1960's the business was taken over by an English company.
William's brother, Albert Pritchett, also came to Australia, on the ship with Annie Brown. He became an electrical contractor, lived in the Bankstown area and was in charge of the electrical systems on the Sydney Harbour Bridge project. His son Frank, worked for many years at the Pritchett factory as a toolmaker.
Eliza Pritchett with her husband Charlie MAY, emigrated also. Charlie's son operated a team of bricklayers and did the brickwork for both houses built by Ron Pritchett in St Ives.
Another brother, Herbert Pritchett, emigrated to Australia
going
on to Queensland, Experiencing financial difficulties in the great
depression he returned to
Sydney.
William helped him purchase two acres of land at Milperra in Sydney’s
south.
He started poultry and pig farm; he also raised canaries. The
property,
near Bankstown Airport was sold to the aircraft manufacturer De’
Havilland
for a factory. Herbert moved further west, and is remembered for buying
a Hudson-Redicut pre fabricated home for his new property.
| 1936 | Albert James P. Herbert Isaac P. Emma Lillian P. |
Electrician Poultry Farmer Home Duties |
Lavender Ave. Bankstown, Ashford Ave. Milperra, Ashford Ave. Milperra |
| 1941 | Herbert Isaac P. | Labourer | Roselind Rd. Milperra |
| 1947 | Herbert P. | Turner | Beaconsfield St. Revesby |
| 1950 | Herbert P. | -as above- | -as above- |
 |
 |